Play together
Nature therapy is both great for the mind, body and soul.’ Michael Louv
Just like the area of food, with physical activity there is always more information you can find to get you on the road to better health and well-being. Whilst valuable to a point, rather than investing hours and hours researching, I encourage you to just get moving every day. Here are some ideas to get you excited about getting moving, more often.
1. Active toys as presents
Give active toys as presents – perhaps a new basketball, cricket bat, running shoes, snorkel, bike or scooter rather than something that promotes sedentary play. Link that to a gift to yourself as a parent to go running, walking and cycling!
2. Plan ahead for your child’s school holidays so they can be active and outdoors as much as possible
Sign up for day-camp programs where they can meet other children and be active and eat healthily.
Pre-pack their lunch and drink (water) if need be to save money and ensure their daily program is not compromised by unhealthy snack food and drinks. This is particularly important over the long summer holidays.
3. Promote daily steps
Pokémon GO seems to promote outdoor daily steps and has been effective for many of my clients with autism or ADHD who may not necessarily be able to be involved in team sports or social activities.
4. Use outdoor apps
Apps like Nature Passport can promote outdoor adventures to explore nature and its beauty.
5. Active mind games
Utilising the power of art and nature therapy, face painting or ceramic painting, for example, will all help get your kids’ minds active, which is a prerequisite to an active body. This includes mindful colouring books or old-fashioned jigsaw puzzles.
